Washington Post on Earle's 60 Minutes interview

A Republican strategist who has worked closely with DeLay said that the legal issues have been a distraction for the majority leader's staff and something of a concern for GOP lawmakers, but that the controversies "just seem to get DeLay charged up."

"Right now, it's not a top-tier sort of thing, but more of a shake-your-head kind of thing," the strategist said. "At some point, though, members may get tired of hearing about it back in their districts."

DeLay is vulnerable in three areas, and this one described above (and #3 below) is the one least discussed:

#1. He's vulnerable as a potential subject of the criminal investigation. The ink wouldn't even be dry on an indictment before he'd has to resign.

#2. He's vulnerable in his district, as Allen reported earlier this week.

#3. He's vulnerable to losing his support from other members of Congress if the scandals continue to surface, and they show no signs of abatement, or if (when) there is an aggressive campaign to link members to DeLay's big money, corrupt agenda.